Every Lake
Oak Ridge Reservoir
Filled in 1892, it drowned the village of Oak Ridge — whose stone bridge still surfaces in droughts.
- 8 ft · first step
- 17 ft
- 25 ft
- 34 ft
- 42 ft
- 51 ft · bottom
About Oak Ridge Reservoir
Newark's water company, the East Jersey Water Company, built the reservoir in the 1890s as part of the city's Pequannock Watershed system, with the dam completed by 1892. The rising water covered two small settlements, Oak Ridge and Wallace Corner, submerging their houses, roads, and a three-arch stone turnpike bridge that once carried the Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike. Builders left the bridge in place because its stone helped anchor the dam, and in low-water years its arches still break the surface.
Oak Ridge Reservoir sits inside West Milford Township in Passaic County, part of the roughly 35,000-acre Pequannock Watershed that Newark has owned since 1900. It covers about 393 acres with a maximum depth near 51 feet, its shoreline running close to five miles around a valley shaped by the dammed Pequannock River. Public fishing is permitted with a daily or season pass under watershed rules that limit boats to electric motors, keeping the water quiet. Anglers work the shoreline for trout and bass, and the drowned turnpike bridge remains a landmark for local paddlers.
- 2 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 29 roads engraved around the shore, 5 of them labeled
- 6 depth layers, each step engraved with its depth in feet
- Compass rose, title block with coordinates, max depth and area; keyhole hanger on the back
Turn it in your hands
Live 3D of the actual cut files — drag to orbit, pinch to zoom. Every road you see is engraved on the real thing.
Viewer not showing? Open it full screen.
Oak Ridge Reservoir depth chart, in wood
This is a Oak Ridge Reservoir depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 8 ft, 17 ft, 25 ft, 34 ft, 42 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 51 ft. The lake covers about 0.6 square miles, and 29 shore roads are engraved around it. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Oak Ridge Reservoir map for the wall — or a gift
Most of these go to a cabin wall, a lake house entry, or a home office; a lot are gifts — the family that has been on Oak Ridge Reservoir for three generations, the retirement move, the first boat. The 12-inch is the desk-and-shelf size; the 24- and 30-inch boards read across a room. Add a line under the title and star your place on the shore, and it becomes the map of your Oak Ridge Reservoir.
Oak Ridge Reservoir map — the details
How big is the map?
Four sizes: 12, 17, 24 and 30 inches on the long side, from $149. Every size is cut from the same depth data of Oak Ridge Reservoir; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Oak Ridge Reservoir is cut layer by layer from published bathymetric soundings — each layer of birch is a depth contour, so the shape of the bottom is the real one, not decorative.
Can I add my own place on it?
Yes. At checkout you can add a line under the title (a family name, a cabin name, a year) and star the spot on the shore that matters to you.
How long does it take?
Made to order in Waterford, Pennsylvania and shipped in 7–10 days; shipping is free in the lower 48.
Can you make a lake that isn't listed?
Any lake in the United States — we hold depth data for 104,419 of them. Search for yours; if it isn't built yet we build it when you order.
- 6 depth layers down to 51 ft
- 0.6 square miles of water
- 29 shore roads engraved, 5 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
